


The Gem Cannon

by Leo_Forest



Series: Unique Lights [1]
Category: Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: Cheeseburger Backpack, Gem glow, Laser Light Cannon, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-03-20 10:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18991129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leo_Forest/pseuds/Leo_Forest
Summary: Hello! My name is Leo! This is my first fan fiction, and I am very excited to start posting.I have been a fan of Steven Universe since my friend introduced me 2 years ago, but always thought that more could be done with the characters for inclusiveness, representation, and exploration of relationships. I will put no episode to waste! This will mostly be an episode-by-episode re-construction!I plan to post bi-weekly, and I’m open to suggestions for character interactions or themes you’d like to see go more in depth. Steven Universe covers many topics, and while I am doing research I but am by no means an expert, so please share what you would like to see!





	1. The Gem Cannon

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! My name is Leo! This is my first fan fiction, and I am very excited to start posting.   
> I have been a fan of Steven Universe since my friend introduced me 2 years ago, but always thought that more could be done with the characters for inclusiveness, representation, and exploration of relationships. I will put no episode to waste! This will mostly be an episode-by-episode re-construction!   
> I plan to post bi-weekly, and I’m open to suggestions for character interactions or themes you’d like to see go more in depth. Steven Universe covers many topics, and while I am doing research I but am by no means an expert, so please share what you would like to see!

Episode 1 - The Gem Cannon

The ocean lays in the gaze of the Obsidian Temple, which itself sits at the tip of the peninsula which is otherwise occupied by Beach City. It is a usually quiet place, yet the temple had ears turned to the goings on in the town behind her regardless.  
But today, both eyes and ears are turned to the pristine red clouds veiling the night sky.

But Steven’s eyes were focused on an empty fridge in the local sweets shop, The Big Donut, which once contained his favorite ice cream treat, Cookie Cat. “Noooooooooooooooooooooo!”  
“Gah, Steven! Stop being such a cry-baby!” Said Laura, who stood arms crossed in her work shirt behind the counter. Her long brown hair slightly covered one eye, and she wore a choker that was only allowed at work because there was a pink flower pinned over the skull. “It’s just Ice Cream!”  
“No they’re not! They are only the most scrumptious and delicious sandwich ever made! Aren’t there laws against this?”  
Laura rolled her eyes. “Can’t you just make one using your magic belly-button?”  
“It doesn’t work like that!” Steven whined, lifting his shirt to look at the rose colored gem in his naval. “I can’t even summon a weapon.”  
Sadie opened the door behind the counter. Her lemon-blonde hair was tied back, and her eyes were tired from a day’s work. She chuckled. “Stop Naval gazing, Steven! I’m sure you’ll summon a weapon or whatever some day! Give me a hand with these boxes, L? I can’t reach the top shelves.”  
“Ugh, fine!” As Laura left, a faint smile crossed her lips.   
Steven glanced around the store. “Well, there’s always Lion Lickers…” he picked one out and took off the wrapper. “But they don’t even look like lions!” He complained.  
“Are you gonna pay for that?” Sadie called from the back room. Laura let out a sharp “ow!”,   
to which Sadie replied, “careful with those…”  
Steven sighed. “I guess…” he pulled out a few bucks and placed them on the counter. “I’m leaving it on the counter, ok?”  
Sadie let out a grunted “Ok!” as Steven opened the door  
Steven stepped outside and noticed the sky. There was a low, red fog over the ocean. He barely noticed the alarms, which rang through the various speakers placed around the town. He was about to head back to the temple when heard the honk of a familiar car horn and a voice behind him. “Hey, Steven! Get in!”  
“Dad!” Steven turned excitedly, dropping his Ice Cream and seeing Greg in his ‘Mr. Universe’ Van, signature tan-lines, and white beach shirt. Steven climbed into the passenger seat. “Where are we going? Oh, Hey Pearl!”  
Pearl was sitting in the backseat, arms crossed to cover the yellow star on her blue shirt. Her forehead gem shimmered against the sky as she looked out the window, worried, but mostly annoyed. “Your father claims he has one of your mother’s weapons in his storage unit. We are going to get it to take care of…” she gestured at the sky “...that!”  
Steven looked at the sky once again. “Yup, That makes sense” he paused a moment. “Hey-”  
“Greg, can you please start the van?” Pearl interrupted. “We don’t know how much time we have!”  
“Seat Belts first!” Steven buckled himself in.  
“Greg!”  
“Alright! Jeeze.” The car pulled out and down the road, away from the beach.  
“Thank you, Greg.” There were a few minutes of silence.  
Steven began sorting through CD’s when he glanced out the window to see a very large, red eyeball in the sky. “Um, Pearl? Is that an Alien?”  
Pearl glanced out the window and was startled, her limbs flailing all over. “Wha- huuu?!”  
“Cause it looks like an alien…”  
“No, Steven, Everything looks like an Alien to you. Hehe, Greg, can we go any faster?” She leaned forward as if that would help.  
“Um, yeah, sure.”  
“I Knew It! That’s an alien! And not the good kind.” Steven crossed his arms in faked annoyance before getting very giddy with excitement and leaning around the chair. “Can I watch you guys fight this time?”  
Greg was worried. “Steven, sit down. After we get the cannon out of my storage unit-”  
“My mom’s weapon was a cannon!” Steven’s eyes glittered at the prospect.  
“Now Steven,” Pearl began. “Your mother had a shield. And besides, we don’t know if you can summon anything from your gem. Now, As I was saying. Once we get Rose’s cannon, your father will head out of town, and I will take you to your mother’s room. You can play that Cookie Cat game again!” She looked out the window at the Eyeball. It hadn’t moved. “Once That is out of the sky, Greg, you can come back home.”  
Steven slumped back into his chair. “Alright…” he picked out a CD. The cover showed a young man on his knees, just having finished a presumably epic guitar solo. The spotlight contrasted the purple galaxy behind him. “Is that you, dad?”  
Greg was immediately embarrassed seeing it. “Uh… Why don’t we listen to what’s in the player already?” he turned up the stereo. It was an old Beach Boys Album. The rest of the car ride went along to the tune of “Isn’t it Fine”.

The Eyeball did nothing.

“Hey Garnet! Come check this out!” Amethyst called from the railing of the house which sat beneath the temple and the now-red sky. Their purple hue was indicative of their lackadaisical attitude.  
Ruby came out first. “Amythest! Why can’t you just say, ‘you guys’, or, ‘Sapphire And Ruby!’  
Amethyst reclined on the railing. “It’s just easier. I don’t know when you two are fused…”  
Ruby, who was red to begin with, somehow grew to an even darker shade. She let out a short lived growl before Sapphire’s blue hand rested on her shoulder. “It’s fine, babe. Amethyst will learn, eventually.” Ze gave a smile and turned to Amethyst. “Now, what was it you wanted to show us?”  
Amethyst turned and pointed at the giant mechanized Eyeball in the sky. “That”  
Ruby And Sapphire grabbed hands and their forms erupted in light. Their gems, amidst this, circled each-other in a brief dance, then the light re-formed itself. The gems reached out to the palms of the emerging being, blue on the right, red on the left. With a powerful inward breath, Garnet came to life and emerged from the light  
“What? Is it really that serious?” Amethyst chuckled.   
Garnet proceeded to flip off the porch to the beach below.  
Amethyst sat up, startled. “Hey, Wait up, you guys!” They ran down the stairs, and Garnet immediately stopped and put a finger to Amethyst's face.   
“It’s Garnet.” Zhe said.  
Amethyst crossed their eyes and smirked. “Yeah, whatever… Whoa!” Amethyst was lifted into the air by Garnet.  
“Don’t use your weapon”. Zhe told Amethyst, then proceeded to throw them towards it. They raised their fist for a punch and braced for impact.  
Thud. Splash.  
Amethyst fell into the ocean, not having made a dent in the spaceship. But that didn’t matter. They swam back to shore. “Ok! I’m ready! Throw me again!”  
This continued for a while.

Still, the Eyeball remained still in the sky, not even budging from the repeated bludgeoning. 

Pearl watched the purple blob as it flew, again and again, towards the spaceship. She was at ease now, knowing the other three were at least trying to take care of it. She was also triply sure that if Greg did have the cannon, it would solve this situation.   
The van pulled into the storage unit, and Greg and Pearl got out.  
“Coming, Steven?”  
“Yup! Coming!” Steven hopped out of the car a minute later, just as Greg was opening the storage unit. A few antiques tumbled out of the overcrowded room. It smelled of dust, and one would have to climb over the couch shoved just inside the garage-style door just to go deeper.  
Pearl was disgusted. “Greg! This place is a Mess! You really need to clean it out.”  
“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to go through it for a while…” said Greg, slightly embarrassed.  
“Pearl, you can’t even get Amethyst to clean their room!” Steven laughed.  
Pearl rolled her eyes. “I’ve only been trying to keep the temple clean for the past 5,000 years… it's the least she can do to help me.”  
“They” Steven corrected. “And, I help you sometimes!”  
“Yes, you do a wonderful job.” Pearl said with a smile. “Maybe you can help your Father later. But for now, well… I’m certainly not going in… that!”  
“I’ll go in!” Steven said, excitedly.   
“Uh… OK, Steven.” Pearl turned to Greg. “How long ago do you think Rose gave you the cannon?”  
Greg thought a moment. “It was a few months before Steven was born…”  
“Ugh! I can’t believe her!” Pearl crossed her arms again, turning away and beginning to mumble. “Did she...we would just...why...it’s absurd…”  
Greg knew there was nothing he could do when she got like this. He instead opened the back of the Van. “Anyway, Steven, we should be able to use these old cables to pull the cannon out. What'd ya say? Steven?”  
But Steven out of sight. He had made his way inside the storage unit and was now lost amidst piles and rows of hap-hazard junk. Greg turned to the storage unit when he heard a “Who-ho-ho!” From Steven. “Dad! Is this a Totem Pole? I didn’t know you had a totem pole!”  
“Uh, Yeah! It was Rose’s… actually, a lot of things in there belonged to your mom… son, you could get lost in there. Maybe come back out and-”  
“YOUCH!” Both Greg And Pearl jumped.  
Pearl was first to react. “STEVEN! Are you ok? What happened? Do you need help?”  
“Nah, just fine! Just stubbed my toe. What is it I’m Looking for again?”  
Pearl sighed in relief. “It’s large… and pink…”  
“Would you say it looks like a knocked over flower vase?”  
Pearl face palmed. “Steven! Have you never seen a cannon before? Yes, if you’ve found it, then…” she turned to Greg. “Go in there and help him pull it out!”  
“What? No! I can’t fit in there! You go in! H-here… I’ll feed you the chord and…”  
“No way! It’s your storage unit! You should go in there!”  
“Um… guys??” Steven called from within the unit. He went ignored.  
“I might knock something over and trap us both in there!” Greg continued the argument. “You’d get it out faster, then we can get back to the beach to take care of the eyeball in the sky!”  
“WHAT! No! Once the cannon is out of here, you will leave Beach City until we have dealt with this!”  
Steven again tried to get their attention. “Um, guys, the cannon is glowing! What should I doooo!?” It again went ignored.  
“And what about Steven!” Greg said worriedly. “You think I’m leaving when space aliens could steal my son! I never know when you’ll get attacked! This time, I do, and I Want to keep him safe!”  
“ROSE’S ROOM IS THE SAFEST PLACE FOR HIM, GREG! CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?”  
“GUUUUYYYYSSSS!” Steven cried. “I think the cannon is activating!!!” He really didn’t know what to do. The cannon had been glowing, and so had his gem. He felt as if a computer was starting up within his belly.  
Pearl and Greg went for the couch and began to crawl over it. Greg didn’t know what to say. Pearl tried to calm Steven down. “Stand away from it, Steven! We-we’ll get you out of there!”  
There was a bright pink light from deep within the storage unit as the cannon fired. When Steven opened his eyes, there was a melted hole, going through five storage units and leading outside.

And the Eyeball swiveled towards the blast, a momentary flash coming from the pupil.

Amethyst didn’t see this, as they were crawling out of the ocean. “Ok, I almost got it! Throw me aga-” they were stopped by Garnet’s deadpan expression.  
“This is going nowhere,” Zhe said. “Besides, it looks like Pearl has some sort of plan”  
“Eh, you know P! Always got something up her sleeve! Still, Throw me again! I want to see what it will do!”  
“No.”  
“Awe, such a killjoy. Oh well, I’ll see how far I get on my own then!” They made a practice hop before dashing forward and leaping into the air. They summoned their weapon, a thorny purple whip. 

Eyeball it turned back around. Amethyst was blinded by the quick, bright light and went tumbling into the shallow ocean.

Pearl saw both flashes, but ignored them. “Steven! Steven, are you ok?”  
“Ye-yes. And I think I see how we will get the cannon out of here!”  
Greg And Pearl ran around to the side to see the gaping hole. Pearl helped Steven push it out. Thankfully, it had wheels. Greg started worrying about payments on the storage unit… they were about to increase exponentially. The three of them headed toward the van, Greg in front of them. He grabbed the trailer hitch. “Ok, let’s get it back to the beach.”  
“No, it’s not that far.” Pearl said, stubbornly.  
“C’mon, Pearl! It’ll be faster this way!” Steven suggested.  
Pearl took a deep breath and hooked the cannon to the trailer using Greg’s chord rope. Steven helped while Greg started the Van. Pearl climbed in the back, clearly uncomfortable. Steven got in the passanger seat. “Off we go!” Excitedly, he turned up the volume on the CD player. Greg was startled to hear his own voice through the speakers.  
~I know I’m not that tall,  
I know I’m not that smart,  
But~  
“~Let me drive my van into your heeeaaarrttt~!” Steven burst out singing. It startled Greg even more.  
“How do you know this song?” He asked, embarrassed.  
“Pearl told me about it! Well, she mentioned you were a rock star, so… I looked it up!” Steven replied, looking back at Pearl, who was off in her own world.  
“Oh...” Greg laughed nervously. “...yeah, you know, your mother always loved my songs, but I guess the rest of the world wasn’t ready for me yet!” He was nervous. “[joke]” they both laughed.  
“What’s so funny?” Pearl piped up from the back  
“Nothing, Pearl” Greg said, but Steven didn’t quite get the hint.  
“I heard that song you sang together!” He said.  
Both Greg and Pearl grunted; Greg trying to turn the conversation, Pearl as if looking for an explanation. She didn’t find one.  
“Oh look! We’re Here!” She said, eager to get out of the van. “Garnet! Amethyst! We have Rose’s Cannon! And…”  
“And Only Steven can Activate it” said Garnet. “Do you have a plan?”  
Pearl had not considered this. She looked at the Eyeball. It was a threat. “No”  
“Any Gem activity and it will flash this super bright light… I couldn’t see for a whole second!” Amethyst laughed. “We got this no problem, P!”  
“Amethyst! Take this seriously! We need to find a way to activate the cannon without Rose’s gem!”  
Greg rolled Down the window from the driver's seat. “Um, Now that you have the cannon, Steven and I are going to go!”  
“No!” Protested Steven. He unbuckled and climbed out. “Garnet, come help me with the Cannon!” Garnet helped him get the cannon positioned before gently putting a hand on his shoulder, kneeling to his height. “Steven, I know you want to help, but this is not the time.”  
“But this is the Perfect time! All the other monsters you guys fight… they don’t come from space! I don’t want to lose you to aliens!” His voice devolved into a fit of tears and he slouched to the sand.  
Garnet gave him a hug. “Exactly. This is far more dangerous than the monsters we fight. That is why You and your father need to-” 

Zhe was cut off as the Eyeball began to move closer. The wind blew violently, and it’s red glow intensified.

Garnet growled. “Get to the Temple!” Zhe called to Steven and Greg. Greg began to run towards the house outside the temple, but Steven stood up and stood his ground. “Steven, If you stay you will be in very big trouble.”  
“I...I’m not leaving!” Steven said, clearly terrified now of the eyeball. He reached a shaky hand towards the cannon and shut his eyes tight. “I-I’m…A Crystal… Gem!” His eyes filled with tears of terror, but he refused to move.  
But the cannon started to glow, as did Steven’s Gem.  
The Gems were right there, excited and in awe. Greg watched from the railing.  
“Steven! Help us aim this thing!” Pearl Exclaimed, determination strong in her voice.   
Steven looked up and smiled at her, then put both hands on the cannon. It was already aimed at the Eyeball, but that didn’t matter.

The Eyeball fell from the sky with a magnificent blast, sending a wave over everyone with its splash. As the water retreated back into the ocean, the night sky faded into its regular dark blue.

Pearl was relieved it was over. She knelt and gave Steven a big hug. It took him a moment, realizing what he just did, to hug back. “Pearl, are the aliens ok?”   
“It’s ok. There were no aliens in that ship.”  
Steven’s usual, playful demeanor returned. “How do you know that?”  
Sapphire interrupted and joined the hug. “Oh, Steven! I’m so glad you’re alright!” Ruby trailed behind Zim.   
Amethyst was on top of the cannon. “Steven! That was Awesome!”   
“Amethyst!”  
“What?”  
“That is a highly valuable piece of history!”  
“Then why did we just make it explode?” They joked before hopping down and giving Steven a tight hug. “You ready to join the team, now?”   
Steven tried to push Amethyst off him. “Can’t… breathe….” before they dropped the hug.  
“So, How did it feel?”  
“What?”   
Pearl took up the question. “Well, you didn’t summon your weapon… but you did use your Gem to activate the cannon!” She clapped her hands together, finally realizing what happened.   
Steven had stars in his eyes, and brought everyone into a hug. “It doesn’t matter! I’m part of the team now!”  
Pearl was taken aback, “um, well…” but decided not to bring the mood down and fully embraced the hug.

Somewhere far off, a monitoring screen went black, but it didn’t matter. A green gem held three floating images - a white blob as two gems fused, a disoriented Pearl, and a stunted Amethyst. “Pitiful clods,” they said. One final image came through. The same Pearl, the same Amethyst, and an abomination, holding up a mythical cannon. And a new being, with a pink glow and that hadn’t been seen in centuries.


	2. Cheeseburger Backpack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst wants to let Steven go on missions, but the other gems are hesitant to let him into danger...

Episode 2 - Cheeseburger Backpack

Amethyst watched Pearl as she strode amongst the garden under the simulated foreign sky. She seemed lost in thought - perfect. Amethyst, transformed into a lemur for the moment, lurked amongst the hibiscus bushes. Their chest gem brushed the ground for a second before they went leaping onto Pearl’s back with a “WHEEEEEEE!”, grabbing her shoulder before spring-boarding back. Pear was turned around in a second, sword drawn with a strike that grazed Amethyst’s“tail”.. She calmed down after a moment.  
“Oh. It’s just you.”  
“Lighten up, Pearl! I’m early for once!” Amethyst transformed back to their usual form, made a goofy face, and proceeded to run further down the path in the direction Pearl had been headed.  
“Yes, early by 2 hours!” Pearl said, looking up at the fake sky.  
“Hey, I can’t tell the time with these stars!”  
“Don’t you have a clock in your room?”  
“Yeah, somewhere… but I remembered, alright!” They chuckled.  
Pearl growled. “That doesn’t mean you have to startle me like that! What if it had been a corrupted gem?” Or worse…  
Amethyst walked backwards to face Pearl. “Oh, C’mon, you know those can’t get in here! And besides, an alarm as the been off, in like, a month! We’re fine!”   
“You want to play in the apple orchard, don’t you?”  
“Haha, you know me sooo well. Thanks, P!” And with that, they ran off towards the orchards. 

Two hours past. Pearl prepared some tea for Ruby and got the fountain running again. She took a moment to admire it, probably for the trillionth time, with its stone bed of roses and a metal base. An old friend had forged it, and probably needed repair, but Pearl somehow valued every crack and dent.  
The door opened behind her, and Garnet walked in. Zhe glanced around. “Should I get Amethyst?”  
“Oh, she’ll-”  
“-they’ll” Garnet corrected simultaneously.  
“be here. She-”  
“-they” again, simultaneously.  
“Wanted to play in the orchards again. I don’t get it!”  
“I don’t get why you grow these things and don’t even eat them!” Amethyst came from the garden, an armful of apples in their hand. “Apples are deeee-licious!” They took a sloppy bite that made Pearl cringe.   
“I… like how they smell” Pearl said, defensively.   
“Let’s get this meeting started.” Garnet began, taking a seat around the delicate white table in Pearl’s Pavilion. “Ruby checked the Northern Crash Sights. She found nothing, usual.”  
“Which sight did she check?” Pearl asked.  
“The Nephrite ship - Nothing was active.”  
“Ok… I checked the battlefield, nothing. And Sapphire?”  
“The Communication Tower. Ze reports the transmitter is still broken; I see no gem fixing it in the near future.”  
Pearl nodded. “I checked out the Alpha and Beta Kindergarten, and I told Amethyst to check Gamma and Epsilon…”   
Amethyst nodded. “Yup! Nothing there but old holes! Pearl, when will you let me go back to my kindergarten? I’m the only thing out of there for the past, like, 400 years!”  
Pearl ignored their question. “All I found was a corrupted gem - though I thought it was a flower at first. It would be nice if some life returned there…”  
“I don’t see that happening” Garnet interrupted. “By next Meeting, we each need to have swept another area. Homeworld could be anywhere.”   
“Ohh! So that’s what that was!” Amethyst said, curious. Pearl and Garnet realized that neither had explained to them anything about the Eyeball ship. Pearl started, but Garnet cut her off.  
“That was a scanning ship from Homeworld. It comes around every 500 years. We don’t know what it is here for, but it doesn’t matter.”  
Amethyst leaned back in their chair, glaring up at the fake nighttime sky which filled the ceiling of Pearl’s room. “Homeworld, huh.” Garnet nodded.  
“Well, I think that sums everything up!” Pearl said, nervously. “Amethyst, you’re watching Steven tomorrow, right?”  
“Yeah, sure! I’ll take him to the Sea Spire!” Amethyst wiggled her fingers menacingly at Pearl.  
“Amethyst! You will do no such thing!”  
“Why not! He’s a part of the team now, right? He’ll learn fastest if we take him on a mission!”  
“Ugh, I can’t believe you! He’s too young!What we do is far to dangerous!”  
“What? How long was I out of my hole before you sent me to the Nephrite Crash Sight! Let’s see… it was 3 days! And Sure, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I fought, and I learned… and Steven has had 14 years!”  
Garnet intervened before things got more heated. “Amethyst. Steven is half human. He grew differently than you did, and we don’t know what will happen if he gets hurt.”  
“Oh, yeah? And who hasn’t let him get hurt! I watched Samuel, and Laura, and Jenny and Kiki grow up - plenty of bumps and bruises! And They are all fine! You know how many times I’ve cracked my Gem - and I’m just fine!”  
“But That was when Rose was here!” Pearl burst out in anger.  
“CRYSTAL GEMS.” Garnet said sternly. “We won’t dwell on the past. I’ve been meaning to bring it up for a while, but It’s time we start teaching Steven. I’ll tell him the situation in two days. Amethyst, don’t tell him anything, though I predict he will want to know more. Meeting adjourned.”

Steven woke up with a stretch and a yawn. He greeted his toys as he got ready for the day. “Good morning, MC Bear Bear, good morning Guys, good morning Mr. Queasy!”   
“Goooooood Morning, Steven!” Amethyst said as they ran up the stairs to the loft and jumped onto Steven’s bed. “Whatsup?”  
“Oh, Goodmorning, Amethyst! Do I get to go on a Gem mission today!?!”  
Amethyst rolled their eyes. “Yeah, if it were up to me! Pearl said something like, ‘Steven’s too young to know about that stuff’” they said in their best mocking voice.  
“But I’m Not! I can handle it! Just like…” he picked a toy off the ground “Explorer Gal! ~Rootin’, tootin, cowgirl! Explorer of the plains!~” he chanted.  
“Yeah, it’s not quite like that, but, you’d be fine! Pearl’s just paranoid, yaknow? Anyway, I thought that, if you can’t go on missions yet, I could take you shopping! Go visit Vadalia, get some new gear for when you can go on missions!”  
Steven thought for a moment. “Oooor… you could take me on a mission right now! Just the two of us!”  
“Woah! Here’s the problem. See, that alien spaceship you saw the other day, Yeah, there could be more, and they could be anywhere.”  
“Then why don’t we go take one down! We have my mom’s cannon, don’t we?”  
“Yeah, see, the problem is, Pearl and Garnet could be anywhere, too, and it’s kinda hard to be stealthy with a cannon like that”  
Steven looked serious for a moment. “Hmmm… you’re right. In that case, let’s begin Operation: Backpack!”  
“Operation: Backpack?”  
“Yeah! If I’m going on missions, I need stuff, and we can put that stuff in a backpack!”  
Amethyst laughed. “Great Idea, Steven! Ok, let’s go!”

“The first task in Operation: Backpack was to stop by the Big Donut for breakfast. Laura was re-stalking the coffee machine, but Sadie was nowhere to be seen.”  
“Sadie doesn’t work Mondays, Steven.” Laura commented, confused but mostly annoyed. She wasn’t really paying attention through the headphones.   
“Hehe, Steven! Come over here!” Amethyst was behind the display case, which Laura had left open. In one hand was a donut, a few bucks in the other. “I filled one of these donuts with slime!” They snickered quietly.  
“Amethyst, get out from behind the counter” Laura droned, making her way around and turning on the cash register. “What’d you want this morning?” Steven eyed the counter, trying to identify Amethyst’s slime replica, but found no clues.  
“Um… I’ll take a maple bar” Steven said cautiously.  
“I already got mine!” Amethyst said excitedly through a mouthful of donut, slamming $5 on the counter.   
Laura rang them up. “Would you like your receipt? Ugh, why do I even ask with you? Have a nice day, and all that…” she waved them off.   
The two headed for the door. “Eh, don’t worry Steven, you know I wouldn’t slime one of your favorites!” Amethyst winked over the shoulder at Laura, who ripped her headphones out of her ears.   
“You did WHAT!?!”  
But the door was already closed.

Steven and Amethyst made their way down the boardwalk, eating their donuts. They passed Fish Stew Pizza and Frybo’s Fry Shop before turning down the street, a mix of beach houses and suburban homes. Eventually, they came to the local gFred Meyer store, where Vadalia worked.  
“Operation: Backpack. Time for a stealth mission!”  
“Uh, Steven, that’s not how this works…”  
“Sure it is! We sneak in, get what we need, and show up in the check-out Line before anyone knows we are in there!”  
“Y'know what? I like it! Hehe, let’s start with the front entrance then-” The door to the store slid open. Amethyst pulled Steven behind the nearest car. “We can use the employee entrance!” Steven nodded.  
They made their way around the sparsely-populated parking lot, making sure not to catch Vadalia’s attention as she pushed carts inside. When they made it to the employee entrance, however, it was locked.   
“Awe, Nuts!” Amethyst said. “Any ideas, Steven?”  
“Hmm… turn into someone else?”  
“No, Vadalia will know me by the purple hue”  
“Hmmmm… Operation: Backpack has hit a snag.. what if...” Steven snapped his fingers. “We walk in the front door!” Amethyst rolled their eyes but went with it.  
They walked around the front. Vadalia had gone inside. The pair let the door open before dashing through and to the right to hide behind the Redbox machine. Getting past the register as easy - Vadalia had already left the area. Amethyst decided to leave a sketch on the counter before Steven beckoned them down the aisle - a token of friendship that read, ‘Catch Me If You Can!’  
Amethyst snickered as the two reached the toys section. “Ok, Steven, it’s really on now. Find a place to hide, and don’t let Vadalia catch you!”  
“Who’s Vadalia?”   
“Tall, White hair, That one DJ kid’s mom…”  
“Oh, Mrs. Cream! And, Amethyst, I know Samuel! He’s one of Laura and Sadie’s friends!”  
There was the sound of slow footsteps around the corner of the aisle. Amethyst got a deer-in-the-headlights look for a moment before darting around the corner. Steven was left in the aisle, but thankfully it wasn’t Mrs. Cream who turned the corner. 

Vadalia was on her way back from re-stalk when she thought she saw a purple blur dash through the kids clothing section. She was filled with excitement, almost running for the register. There it was! A paper note with a cartoon-y sketch of Amethyst holding up a peace sign. She smiled. It was on. She was sure she’d seen the purple blur headed for the adult clothing section. That meant she was probably in the tech department by now. She ran down the main walkway- the store was mostly empty this morning - and stood with a wide stance in front of the rows of TVs. Her eyes flicked back and forth until… THERE!

Amethyst watched Vadalia leap on the decoy - a mop with a purple shirt over it. They turned the corner from 2 aisles down the gardening section and gave distinct laugh before climbing the shelf and shapeshifting into a small bird statue. 

Vadalia slunk slowly past the gardening aisles. What Amethyst didn’t know was that she had taken up gardening in the past few month and thus knew this section well enough. And there hadn’t been any shipments of purple bird statues lately.  
“Gotcha!” She cried, leaping up to the top shelf to knock the ‘bird’ off their Perch.

Amethyst flew high, avoiding Vadalia’s hands by an inch. “Phthhhhhhh!” Amethyst almost spit on their friend. They landed on top of the lighting fixture and transformed again into a Pika, scurrying across the length of the light and leaping off into a pile of stuffed animals that bordered the baby section. They burrowed under a teddy bear.

The light was too bright for Vadalia to look up, so she closed her eyes and listened. There was a soft thud from the baby stuffies bin. With a quick check to ensure no one else was in this part of the store, she leaped into it, toppling it and sending the toys flying.   
Amethyst transformed back into themself and laughed alongside Vadalia. “Oh-ho-ho, nice goin’! Hahah!”   
“You had me with that first trick! I was sure you’d messed up! Did you grow your hair?”  
“Yeah, had to reform recently… didn’t change much though.”  
Vadalia stood and righted the bin. “Why even bother, if you can shapeshift?”  
“That takes energy. I’m not going to constantly use that just to make my hair a different length!”   
“You should’ve come by sooner! It’s been too long!”  
“Eh, I’ve been busy with Gem stuf-”  
They were cut off by a blaring alarm.   
It signaled the presence of a Corrupted Gem, telling everyone to get to the safety of the underground bunkers so the Crystal Gems could remove the threat.   
BEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEP BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEP BEEP!  
“UUGH! See what I mean! Vadalia, could’ya help me find Steven?”  
“You brought Steven?” Vadalia calmly began walking towards the bunker door.   
“Yeah yeah, ok? He wanted to be prepared for missions!”  
“You’re letting him go on missions? Are you sure he is ready for that?”  
“I’m not worried… except Steven, might not know... where the bunkers are.”  
“I cannot believe you sometimes.” Vadalia said, storming off towards the toy section. Amethyst followed.

Steven had found the perfect backpack. It shimmered through a sheen of wax, a cardboard yellow starburst displayed behind it showed its glory. “Cheeseburger backpa-”  
BEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEP BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEP BEEP!  
The Backpack was too high up for him to reach, and Amethyst wasn’t around to take him back to the temple. He ran around in a circle, murmuring possible scenarios to himself.

“So, where do you think he’d be?” Vadalia said. “Steven!” She called, trying to call between the alarms.  
“I don’t know! I left him in a grocery aisle! I told him to hide from you, then I heard footsteps, then I ran outta there!”  
They searched through the boy's clothing, girl’s clothing, through to the toy section. Nothing.   
“What were you here to get, anyway?”  
“Like I said, gear for missions!” It dawned on them. “Operation: Backpack!” They went running for the ‘School’ section.  
“Amethyst, wait up!”  
Amethyst found Steven in his panicked state. “C’mon, Steven! Let’s go!”  
“W-what?”   
“You’re part of the team now! There’s a Corrupted Gem outside! Let’s go fight it!”  
Vadalia barely heard what they were saying but knew it probably wasn’t right. She ran closer and grabbed Amethyst’s wrist.   
“Hey, let go of me!” They reared back. “Steven is part of the team now! He needs to know what he’s fighting!”  
Vadalia knelt in front of her friend. “He’s still too young. This is dangerous, Amethyst. You can reform, but we humans? One hit, anywhere, and that’s it.”  
“Then he’s fighting for survival! I had to do that!”  
Vadalia shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. If Sam- If Steven were to go out there, right now, he probably wouldn’t come back. He hasn’t even activated his gem.”  
“But he Has! The cannon blast from the other day, that was Steven!”  
“And Steven isn’t Rose. Steven is a child, Amethyst. I’ll take him to the bunker, and you go take care of that Corrupted Gem, ok? I’ll make sure he is safe.”  
Amethyst glanced at Steven, who wasn’t listening and instead staring longingly the Backpack. Vadalia stood and took the backpack down and held it to her chest.   
“Amethyst told me this monster is reeaaalllllly strong. They just want to keep you safe, ok?”  
Steven looked disappointed, but nodded. “I understand.” He hugged Amethyst.   
“And if you come with me to the bunker, I’ll get you this for free!”  
“Really?!” Steven seemed to light up.   
“Yup!” She extended her hand, which Steven took, and they walked off to the Bunker. 

Amethyst ran out to the parking lot.   
There were seven of them; a fleet of orange, eyeless birds with toothy beaks and claws. “Garnet!” Amethyst called out. They put their hand over their gem, and in their fist a handle formed. With a quick flick and a pull, a thorny whip emerged from their gem.   
“Amethyst! I’ll distract them!” Garnet called before raising zer fists. Around them grew two giant gauntlets, which then fired up at the orange flock and turned their collective attention. One dive-bomed at Garnet, who summoned two more gauntlets and caught by the beak. The force pushed zer back before a spear rocketed through it’s center, and the bird erupted in a poof of harmless smoke. It’s gemstone fell to the ground, thankfully un-cracked. Pearl ran forward and, instead of pulling a spear, a Saber sword came fourth from her gem.   
Meanwhile, Amethyst’s whip had caught one by the leg. They threw it to the ground with a powerful force, but it didn’t poof until pearl lunged forward with her saber. “That’s two for me!” She said walking out of the eruption of smoke, graceful as ever.  
“Awe, C’mon, P! I had that one!”  
“Then take out that one!” Pearl said, summoning another spear and throwing it at an approaching dive-bombing bird. She missed, and Amethyst took a swing. They caught the bird around one of it’s wings, and, laughing, turned towards the store. They rolled into a ball and dashed towards the corner of the concrete building, dragging the bird along with them and forcing them into the wall with a loud crash and again, a puff of smoke.   
By the time they dashed back to the center of the parking lot, the 4 remaining birds were moving to neighborhood streets. The other two gems were in pursuit. Amethyst easily caught up to them. “I’ll slow them down!” They said, summoning two whips and catching two of them by the legs. They dug their heels in and tried not to be lifted off the ground. Behind them, Garnet un-fused.   
“I’m going to start collecting the proofed gems! Go get ‘em, Ruby!” Sapphire waved to zis partner before gliding back to the parking lot. Ruby smiled and jumped onto one of Amethyst’s whips, climbing quickly before engulfing her hands in fire and tackling the bird to the ground. It poofed, and Ruby turned to jump on the next one, but Amethyst had already pulled it down and was on top of it.   
Pearl simply sighed, summoned a spear, and started aiming at the remaining two. She much preferred her saber but this would have to do.  
Once all the gems were poofed, they waited for Sapphire to return. Ze formed an icy blue bubble around each gem, tapped it, and it went away in a flurry of light. Ruby waited to hug zim until Ze was done bubbling all the gems.   
Pearl turned to Amethyst. “Where were you?”  
“Making sure Steven was safe! He’s with Vadalia in the store bunker.”  
Pearl was taken aback, but impressed. “Thank you, Amethyst. I was half expecting you to bring him out here…”  
“Nah, I thought out what you said! Steven is different! Special.   
“Well, anyway. That’s four more for me in total!”  
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” They crossed their arms. “It isn’t like you were already, like, 100 ahead of me!”  
Pearl gawked. “Only 83! Well, 87 with these new ones...” amethyst huffed at that. “I don’t even know why we play this game.”  
“I’ll go scout the town, make sure there aren’t any more.” Amethyst changed the subject.   
Pearl took the Beach, and Garnet searched the outskirts of town. 

About half an hour later, the safety bells were run throughout the town, and everyone went about their business as usual.


	3. A Boston Cream Donut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In honor of Pride Month and my attendance of my city’s pride parade today... ☺️ Keep in mind that I’ve never written this scenario, so I know it’s really short but I hope it makes soemone’s day!

Laura was inspecting the Boston Creams for one of Amethyst’s slime donuts when Buck walked in. Under the large shades and red hoodie, Laura recognized her friend. “Yo, Buck! Here with your dad today?”  
“Huh? No, no, hush! I’m here to get away from my mom…”  
“Why? I thought you two were chill.”  
Buck shook his head. “I, Uh, I think she saw…” Buck folded his hands to resemble two people romantically holding hands. He looked aside nervously.  
“Oohhh. That’s, not good. Well. Um. If you want, you can hide in the back room? Your mom has started coming by every morning for breakfast, soooOhOh Go go Go she’s coming!”  
Buck ran to the back door and let Laura shut it behind him right as the door to the shop opened.  
“Laura! Good morning! How’s it hangin’?”  
“Just fine, Mrs. Dewey!”  
“How many times do I have to tell you, Laura! It’s Bianca! By the way, have you seen Buck? I have the day off, and since it’s summer, I’d like to spend the day with him! You know, some mother-son bonding.”  
Laura looked off nervously. “Oh, no, I haven’t seen him around! Haven’t seen him all week, in fact.”  
“Well,it’s only Monday… I’ll get my usual and head on my way.”  
“Two Boston Cremes, Coming right up!” Laura took a little extra time to inspect these two - she didn’t want to sell slimy donuts, especially to the Mayor. Nothing looked wrong. She rang her up and sent her on his way. Once she left, Laura took a deep sigh. After a few minutes, she called Buck back out.  
“When do you think she saw?”  
“Well, we went out yesterday. Nothing fancy, just a beachside walk and some ice cream. He was so cute and…”  
Laura couldn’t help but snicker, then laugh. “You always say that! C’mon, gimme the deets! You know I won’t tell anyone, right?”  
Buck decided to change the topic. “Sooo, what about you and Sadie? What do you talk about when no one is in the shop?”  
“What! Me and Sadie? Ewe, no way man!” Laura jumped up and sat on the counter. “Besides! I can’t wait for the summer rush of Beach Boys!” She raised her eyebrows suggestively.  
“Not this year, man. I’ve got one already!” They shared a quick laugh before the door of the shop flew open. Bianca Dewey stood in the doorway, nearly choking on a her donut. Buck ducked behind the counter.  
“Ehggg! What is in this? I demand a refund!”  
Laura jumped off the counter. “AMETHYST!” She groaned, running over and dragging the trash can with her to help the mayor. “I’m so sorry about this! Amethyst was in earlier; you know how she likes to prank…” she was very anxious. “One free donut, on the house! Eh… which would you like?”  
“Anything but a Boston Cream” thankfully, Amethyst’s slime had not made the victim vomit this time.  
Laura got him some water and another donut as she headed for the bathroom to wash up. She glanced behind the counter at Buck. “Dude, get out of-”  
BEEEEOHEEEEEEP! BEGEP BEEP!  
BEEEEEEEEEEOEP! BEEP! BEDEP!  
The alarms always hurt Laura’s ears. She ran behind the counter and opened the back door. The Mayor ran out of the bathroom, paper towel in hand. “Bianca! Get down there!” Laura called; she nodded, frightened, and ran through the door.  
Buck stood up Nervously and looked at Laura, who looked around for a solution. Being on the edge of the boardwalk has it’s setbacks; it was too dangerous to go outside.  
“You… saw me outside?” Buck said, surprisingly calm. Laura nodded, grabbed his hand, and ran downstairs.  
Bianca was cowering in a corner by the time the two teens arrived. She saw Buck and nearly crawled over to hug him. Despite growing up with the alarms, the mayor was a sniveling idiot whenever they went off.  
“Buck! I’m sooo glad… you are safe!!!”  
“Yeah, this was the closest bunker…”  
“Thank Politics!”  
“Mommmmm…”  
“Oh, right.” she tried to right himself. “Ahem. Laura, thank you for making sure the citizens around the Big Donut were safe.”  
“Yeah, I’ve only been doing it my whole life” she tried to play it off like something funny.  
“Soo! Buck! I finally had the day off and, well, I wanted to spend the day with you! You know, Mother-Son bonding! I wasn't expecting, the alarms… But now we can sit and chat! I’m sure Laura won’t mind!”  
“What? No… I grabbed my headphones ...” Laura searches her pockets. “...Or I didn’t. Great.” She got up and went to the far corner of the bunker.  
“So, uhhh, Dad said you got an A on your math final! I’m really proud of you!”  
“Yeah, that was like, a week ago.”  
“Well, So was school! Haha…what have you been doing this week? I’ve barely seen you!”  
Buck chuckled. “Just hanging out with friends…”  
“But you do that everyday at school!”  
“No, no. Jenny’s been driving me to Empire City; they’re friends I met at a dance once.”  
“Oh, really? I thought Jenny worked morning shifts?”  
“That’s her sister Kiki.” Bianca looked embarrassed.  
“Anyway. Have I met these friends?”  
“No…” Buck was making this up on the spot, Laura could tell. She joined the conversation.  
“But I have! Um, yeah! Alexander and Jennifer!… they run the Theater Club at Empire High!”  
“Well, if Laura knows them too…”  
“And Sadie, And Samuel, and Jenny; I believe Mrs. Creme has met them too!” Buck continued.  
“Ah! They sound like Wonderful kids, then!”  
A while went by in silence, so long that Buck seemed to calm down. Bianca didn’t know what to do; maybe ask a ‘hip’ question, what the kids were talking about these days! “So, um, Buck! Any girls you are interested in?”  
“Mom...I actually have a question for you.”  
“Yes?” She asked, confused.  
“Did you... ever like girls, in high school?” Laura looked up from her phone and gave Buck a thumbs up and a wink. If Buck wanted to do this now, she was all in support of it!  
Bianca took a moment, taken aback. “Um... I had friends who were girls, is that what you mean?”  
Buck shook his head and curled his legs in. “Never mind.”.  
His mom reached over, removing the hood Buck was wearing. “Hey, it’s ok! You can tell me anything, alright? I know I haven’t been there all the time, but...”  
“It’s ok, mom”  
Bianca leaned over and gave her son a hug. Buck tensed up, but decided to speak.  
“Mom, I like guys.”  
“I know”  
Laura was shocked, watching Buck begin to cry as his mom held him tighter. She had never seen him cry, and Mrs. Dewey didn’t comment on any of it. The room was filled with relief.  
A softer, calming bell went off, signaling that it was safe to exit. Laura unlocked the bunker door and left, allowing them to have their moment. She re-set the shop. Thankfully she had found Amethyst’s slime donut and wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.


	4. Together Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [#] is a reference to another franchise. There is a list at the bottom!

Ruby looked up from the manga she was reading when her room-bell rang. “Coming!” She made one glance up at the Shenron [1], a dragon poster she had only had up for about 2 years and had still not gotten used to. It didn’t matter, it was vintage, and it was awesome! She bopped Shenron’s nose.  
She rolled out of her TARDIS [2] bed sheets and crawled down the ladder from the angular hole-in-the-wall and fake window in the upper corner of her room. The wall with the ladder held various posters and depictions, all of which had sat above her bed at one point or another. She skipped past the bookshelf, which included an original copy of Paradise Lost, the Iliad, Shonen Jump! Magazines dating back to 1986, 5 out of 7 Harry Potter books and all the movies, a complete collection of Shakespeare’s works (signed by the man himself), and various other collected volumes, some of them repeats with fancier covers and the like. She was quite proud of the collection.  
She opened the door and saw her partner. Zis hair was pulled back, bobby pins revealing zis gorgeous blue eye; and zis dress looked spotless as it had been when Ruby had first seen it 600 years ago. “Good Morning, Sapphire!” She gave zim a kiss on the cheek, then realized what day it was. “We get to tell Steven today, don’t we!” Her giddiness was a palpable.   
Sapphire giggled with a wide smile. “We Do!” Ruby flung her arms open and picked zim up, swinging zim around. They laughed in delight. Sapphire tapped Ruby on the shoulder and she put zim down. Ze put a finger to zis lips. “But first, I have a surprise for you!” Ruby smiled and nodded with a ‘hmph!’ And let Sapphire grab her hand and run her out the door.

They ran out of the temple into Steven’s room, in the middle of which sat the Warp Pad. They hopped on and Sapphire activated it, Ruby put her index finger on her chest and smiled [3]. A stream of light engulfed them and their gems and carrying them to whatever Warp Pad of their choosing, as long as it remained on-planet.   
Steven had just woken up, hearing the temple door open. “Oh, good Morn-” he tried to call to Ruby and Sapphire, but they were gone before he could finish. He shrugged. “Oh well.” and went back to bed.

When the light from the Warp Pad faded, Ruby saw what should have been an old, pristine site. Now however, it was fallen, covered in moss and vines and open air. Beyond it, a sprawling field and jagged mountains were frame to a brilliant sunrise.  
“Sapphire, I thought the Warp Pad here was... destroyed!”  
Sapphire smiled and took her by the hand. “I asked Rose to fix it, and I was saving it for a special occasion!”  
“Rose? How long ago was this?”  
Sapphire looked aside, embarassed. “Maybe, um...”  
“Doesn’t matter!” Ruby said innocently, stepping off the Warp Pad. Sapphire smiled and followed her. “Wow! I remember everything that happened here!”   
Sapphire chuckled. “I know!”  
Ruby turned to zim. “And I know you know” she gave zim a kiss on the cheek.   
“And I know you know I know” Ze grinned, pulling her closer.  
“But do you know... my opinion of Fruits Basket?” [4]  
“Which Fruits are in the basket?” Ze raised zis eyebrow in confusion.  
Ruby tapped zis nose mischievously. “Omnigiri” [5]. She took a few steps through the undergrowth that had formed over the once-bright tiles of the ruin.  
“Jelly Donuts?” [6] Ze called after. Ruby turned and looked at zim with a deadpan expression. “Oh, C’mon! that was funny!”  
Ruby couldn’t hold the face for long. “That joke is so old!”   
“No it’s not. Besides, Steven still thinks it’s funny. Isn’t there another Pokémon game coming out soon?”  
“Yeah! And the starters are sooo cute!”  
“Hehe, Oh, I thought you were over Pokémon... it is a simple show, made for kids, after all.”  
“But Sun and Moon were great! And with Sword and Shield [7] coming out... how can anyone be ‘done’ with Pokémon! All the different power types, locations, technologies — it’s Fantastic!” Ruby flung her hands into the air, spreading them around as if to display each attribute she enjoyed about the series.  
Sapphire chuckled, patiently watching the flurry of uncomplicated happiness coming from Ruby.  
“So...” Ruby rubbed shoulders with Sapphire, “What’s your favorite Gen. 1 Pokémon?”   
Sapphire grabbed her hand and swung her around into a dip. “I predict It’ll take you 79 guesses”  
“79! Oh, I know you better than that...”  
“78 then” Ze kissed her on the forehead.  
“Eevee?”  
“Nope”  
“Dratini?”  
Sapphire shook zis head playfully.  
Ruby rolled her eyes back and help up a finger - one minute. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. “It’s Vulpix, Isn’t it?”  
Sapphire began to laugh, dropping Ruby to cover her mouth politely. “Oh, Ruby! You’re so unpredictable!”  
“That’s why you love me!” She winked, flirty.  
Sapphire helped Ruby up. “Oh, C’mon, you know it’s more than that!”  
Ruby seemed to ignore Sapphire’s comment, instead pointing to a prominent far wall and running over to it. “So... Let’s do something Unpredictable!” She called, beginning to rip away some of the vines. Sapphire knew what was behind those vines. Ruby wouldn’t burn it down, would she? No, Pearl would be furious. Would she salute? Probably not - too many bad memories for the both of them.   
Throwing the last vine aside, Ruby took a step back. “Hmmmm... it looks like... gimme a minute!” With that, Ruby ran to the Warp Pad.  
Sapphire was left in the clearing of the palace ruins staring at the painted diamond shape above zim. There were nine smaller diamonds within the large one - White in the middle, surrounded by Red, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Yellow, and Black, organized in a clockwise fashion: The Insignia of Homeworld. Ze pondered if they were still the same nine leaders ruling today, or if this insignia had been re-produced for a new era.  
Ruby came running through the Warp Pad with two armfuls of posters and a can of spray paint in her mouth. “Hgo ge eeorert ings!” She said, running right past sapphire. She dropped her posters in front of the wall and spit the spray can out of her mouth. “Well? Go get your art things! Come back with me! I need to ask Amethyst for spray cans!”   
“What are we going to do?”  
“Change it!” Ruby said, running to the Warp Pad. Sapphire ran after her.

Amethyst nearly ran over Sapphire as they headed to the Warp Pad. “Woah! Where are you guys going?”  
“Amethyst! Can I borrow some spray paint? I only have blue...”  
“Sure thing! Whatcha up to, in all this hurry?”  
“Shhhhh! Ruby said, pointing towards Steven’s room before turning towards the temple. Amethyst opened the door to her room and Ruby bolted in. “Ok, now that we can be loud... Sapphire found the palace, and we are going to decorate it! Then we’ll show Steven and it’ll be awesome! C’mon!” Ruby went running off through the piles and piles of Amethyst’s room, searching for spray cans.   
“Yo! They’re to your left!” Amethyst directed. They turned to Sapphire. “Any idea what she is planning?” Sapphire shrugged.   
“I will meet you guys back at the palace.” Ze said before turning to the nearest temple door to take zim to zis room.  
The air was cold and comfortable within the blue-covered walls. The gates leading to different rooms stood tall, as usual, each denoting their purposes and acting as brilliant pieces of art, if Ze did say so zimself. Ze passed the stamped gate, imprinted in it’s metal figures meant to mimic the ancient stories Ruby would tell zim, and the ancient gate with wire detailing, crafted in the likeness of fallen Crystal Gems. Ze entered the gate with the ancient earth landscapes abstracted across its many rows and columns. The last gate was a single eye - watching eerily, like the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg [8], but crafted long before the idea had been conceived.   
As the Landscape gate closed behind zim, ze gathered zis things. Zis art supplies were loaded into a woven basket... and an extra bottle of yellow paint for Steven. Ze smiled, then returned to the palace.  
Ruby and Amethyst weren’t back yet; Amethyst was probably trying to figure out what to put on their part of the mural, if Ruby had even explained it to them yet. She hadn’t even explained it to zim! So Ze waited for them both to return. It didn’t take long.   
Ruby and amethyst stood on the platform surrounded by spray paint cans and various other things. Amethyst was stunned, seeing the giant wall and the insignia. They fell to their knees. “Ruby... what is this?”  
“Oh, I thought you might had seen one before...” Amethyst shook their head.   
“I don’t like this feeling...” they shook themselves out of it. “What is it?”  
“It’s Homeworld’s insignia. You were supposed to serve them, but, now you don’t have to! Don’t worry, that feeling should go away, as soon as we decorate it!” Ruby said. Amethyst looked to Sapphire, who simply nodded.   
“Alright, then!” They transformed into a stronger, savage version of themself. They called it, ‘The Purple Puma!’ “Which diamond do I get to wreck?”  
“Whoa, woah! Don’t destroy the whole thing! Then we won’t be able to decorate it and show Steven!” Ruby protested.  
“Nah, don’t worry. I’ll just leave a hole in one of them!” And with that, they walked right up to the purple diamond and smashed their fist into it. The wall was too thick for their fist to clear, but the once-Purple paint was now flacking around hole which now sat a few inches deep into the wall, right in the center. Amethyst took a step back to admire their work.  
Ruby spoke up. “I call the red diamond, then! Lemme go get a ladder..”  
“And I’ll decorate the blue one! Ruby, grab two!!” Sapphire called after her.  
“On it!” She said before warping away.   
Amethyst proceeded to punch a few more holes in the purple diamond square before running back to get some of the things they had grabbed from their room. In their stash was various trinkets from around earth - a few Spanish coins, a piece of the Berlin Wall, an African mask, The Sphinx’s nose, A generic WWE action figure, an old wall clock. They arranged and re-arranged the items in the newly made shelves, and hung the clock in the center. Unfortunately, the nose proved too large, so they set it off to the side of the broken wall.  
“What does that mean to you? I havent seen that one before.” Sapphire asked after a while, pointing to the old clock.  
“Heh, you of all gems should get it! It’s obvious!”  
“You mean there isn’t a specific meaning to it? It’s just... time?”  
“Yup! Pretty much!” They stepped back again to admire their collection, stretched, and transformed back to their usual state. “Want to go get Pearl?”  
“I would like to paint my own first.”  
“Alright. I’m going to go grab a book. It’s going to be a beautiful day over here!” They left, and moments later Ruby returned with a step ladder and a full ladder.   
“Where’d Amethyst Go?”  
“Right here!” They said, warping onto the pad with a book. They put it between their teeth and tanked the large ladder over to the insignia. Ruby followed with the smaller one. She set it up and helped Sapphire up onto it, passing zim zis basket of paints.   
Ruby climbed up her own ladder with a poster and some plaster. The First was hung above the insignia entirely: a black background and a hand, made up of a word in white - Bang. Red smoke rose off the index finger of the hand. [9]. the rest were hung somewhat sporadically, and definitely going outside-the-lines. Most of them had something to do with space, and one was a zodiac chart. She lost track of how much time she spent re-arranging them to create the illusion of a splintered, red crack running through the display of posters.   
Sapphire covered the blue paint with whites, pinks, and oranges, creating the top half of zis space as a sunrise. There was little difficulty choosing which landscape to draw beneath this sky; the one right in front of zim. Seeing Ruby go outside the lines, ze did the same. The result was a gorgeous grassland with mountains and a few trees, which didn’t exist there now; the first true sight Ze had seen on earth, and a line of gem silhouettes holding hands in the distance.  
The Warp Pad activated on its own. lol the gems turned to see Pearl standing there, very confused. “Why do the Warp Pads-” she stopped short, gasping at the sight of the vandalized Homeworld insignia. “What are you Doing? This... this was once Blue Diamond’s Aristocratic Palace — This is Important History!”   
“Oh, C’mon, Pearl! This can’t be the only Homeworld insignia still in tact on this planet!”   
“Well, it certainly isn’t anymore...” she sighed. “but I suppose if Amethyst has already punched holes in it... give me a moment.” Pearl warped away. The three gems shrugged.  
Pearl returned with a finely-crafted Persian Scimitar. “Ruby~ could you move your ladder, please? I wouldn’t want it to get broken.” Ruby nodded and pushed the ladder aside.  
Pearl began to dance with the sword, right there on the Warp Pad. It was elegant and elaborate, and at an unexpected moment, Pearl Thrust the sword, blade first, at the insignia. It struck the white diamond in the center, wedging in deep, the blue tassel on the end swinging with the impact.  
Sapphire looked at the mural, then to Ruby. Ze held her hand. “We’ll do this together!” They both smiled and fused into Garnet.   
“I’ll take the orange diamond.” Zhe grabbed the spray paint and began to draw - nothing fancy, but in every color of the rainbow was now displayed over a simplified depiction of Vulpix. Zhe stood back and took in the mural - well, not yet the finished mural. One more person needed to add their special touch.  
After Garnet left, Pearl turned to Amethyst. “See, I knew you had a clock in that room of yours.”

Steven yawned. It was probably far past his alarm; the last thing he remembered was being up early, seeing Ruby and Sapphire, then falling asleep again. He sat up and greeted all his toys, then headed down the loft stairs for food. Garnet was on the couch under the loft. “Goodmorning, Garnet!” He yawned again.  
“Good morning, Steven!” Zhe said, excitedly. “I made you breakfast!”   
Steven gasped. “Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich! And Chips! Awe, Garnet! You’re the best!” He ran over and took a bite. “And you added Neutellaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~”  
“I knew you’d like that” Zhe smirked. “Steven, the Gems and I have something important to show you.”  
“Ok! Just let me finish lunch!”  
There was a short period of mostly silence as Steven wolfed down the sandwich and chips before turning to Garnet. “Ok! I’m ready!”   
Garnet smiled. “Are you sure?”  
“Of course!”  
“Ok then~” Garnet pointed to the Warp Pad.   
Steven’s eyes lit up wildly. “Really?” Garnet nodded. Steven ran over to he Warp Pad. He couldn’t contain his excitement as Garnet followed him. She knelt in front of him.  
“First, I have to tell you what happens in here. As a gem, my form is made of light. You will only see these going through the Warp Pad.” Zhe showed him zher palms, on which sat zher gemstones.   
“So... you’ll disappear for a moment?” Steven asked worriedly.   
“It’s more like... I’ll be invisible!” Zhe waved zher hands at him as if it were part of some magic trick.   
“Ooh ooh! Will I go invisible?”  
“No, but you might feel a bit dizzy on the other end. Don’t worry, if you fall, I’ll catch you. Second, stay inside the beam of light. If you leave it, I won’t be able to pull you back in and you’ll get lost in space-time.” Zhe stood up. “alright. Activating the Warp Pad in 3...”  
“Wait, which version of Space Time?”  
“2... get ready, Steven!”  
“Um... ok!”  
“3!” Garnet activated the Warp Pad. Ruby and Sapphire’s forms sank into their gems, and Steven felt a tingling sensation. He was moving very fast, and the lights were very bright, and he kept all his limbs to himself so he wouldn’t find himself outside the light tunnel. He did turn his head to see the two gems floating beside him.  
“Hey, Ruby and Sapphire? How long will this take?” When there was no response, Steven grabbed Sapphire’s gem. “Sapphire? Are you ok? You said you were invisible, but why can’t you still talk to me? Ruby?” Again, no response. ”Oh no! It-it’s ok! I’ve gotcha!l he hugged them, closed his eyes, and waited for this crazy light ride to be over.  
The light tunnel set them down on the Warp Pad at the ruins, where Amethyst and Pearl were waiting. When Steven opened his eyes, Garnet was holding him. “Thanks for the hug.” Zhe said.  
“Told ya it would freak him out!” Amethyst joked at Pearl. “Yo! Steven! It’s all ok!”  
“But... you guys can’t talk... in the light tunnel?”  
“Nope! But it totally worth it! We’re in Guang- Gu-Ong-ski? Guangxi! in a few seconds! Isn’t that rad?”  
“Southern China” Pearl simplified.  
“Woah... I really need to learn my maps! Ooh! What is that!” Steven Exclaimed, seeing the mural.  
“That... is our surprise for you!“ Pearl answered. “It’s a decoration wall for the new team of Crystal Gems! Props to Ruby for having the idea! Here, we saved you this pink space, right where you can reach.” Pearl clapped her hands together with pride.  
“Yeah! Pink is my favorite color! Wait.. new team?”  
“Yeah, Steven! You’re officially a Crystal Gem now!” Garnet smiled.  
Steven had stars in his eyes. “Really?” He looked at Pearl, who nodded, and Amethyst, who was resisting the urge to give him a hug.  
“Thank you guys! Um... group hug?”   
With that, everyone ran up and engulfed Steven in a hug, even Pearl. Steven soon turned his attention to the mural. “um, what should I put here?”  
“Absolutely anything you want!” Garnet replied.  
Steven thought hard for a moment. He took a look at the other displays. Suddenly, it came to him. “Garnet, can I grab some things from my room?”  
“Would you like me to grab it for you?”  
“Yes please. Go grab my camera! The one that prints the photos for you! And... clear tape!”  
“You got it!” Garnet went to the Warp Pad and disappeared in a flurry of light.   
Steven turned to Pearl. “Um, do you think Sapphire will mind if I use zis yellow paint?”  
“I don’t see any reason ze would be...”   
“Ok, then!” Steven grabbed a paintbrush and went to work painting a sloppy yellow star onto his diamond space. He stood back. “Hmm... Pearl? I don’t think it looks right...”  
Pearl took a look. “Well, if you want a real star...” she grabbed a different paintbrush an painted over one of the floor tiles - a large ball with little, unpredictable streaks going across and around and out from it.  
Steven considered it. “No, I think my star will be a real star, too. I just need a way to make straight lines. I’m going to go look for a stick!”  
“Hm. Here you go, Steven.” Pearl smirked. Her gem glowed and out came a ruler. She handed it to him.   
“Thanks Pearl!”  
Just then, the Warp Pad activated. Sapphire was laughing hard as Ruby rolling around on the floor, engulfed in a small fire and cracking up. she stood up. “Steven! We will... have to, uhh, clean your room... after this...”  
Sapphire let out another burst of laughter before stepping off the Warp Pad. “Here - gahahaha! - here’s your camera, Steven!”  
Steven took the camera. “It’s ok, Ruby! As long as you didn’t burn my house down.”  
“No! But...” she took a deep breath and dawned a determined face. She held out a fist. “We’ll clean it together, ok?”  
Steven smiled and returned the fist with a fist bump. “Ok! Oh also! I’m glad it’s you two, not Garnet.” Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other, confused. “Everyone! Come over here!” Steven said, running over to the beautiful scene of a midday sky against the mountains. He held up the camera as everyone came over. “Say... what should we say?”  
“Fart burgers!” Amethyst blurted out with a giggle.  
“No, I won’t say that.” Pearl huffed.  
“What about...Kazoku?” Ruby spoke up. “It, uhh, it means family!“  
“That’s so cool!” Steven smiled. “Alright! Kazoku on 3! 1... 2... 3!” *click*

The photo sat on the bottom of the mural, amidst the pink diamond and the yellow star. It was held there by six pieces of scotch tape, watching the sun set over the mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End notes.  
> 1\. Dragon Ball Z, Manga and Anime  
> 2\. Dr. Who, TV series  
> 3\. Star Trek, Original TV series.   
> 4\. Fruits Basket, Manga and Anime.  
> 5/6. A poorly adapted 4Kids! Pokémon anime adaptation.  
> 7\. Pokémon, Video Games.   
> 8\. The Great Gatsby, Novel.  
> 9\. Cowboy Bebop, Anime.


End file.
